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Rather than absolving him of his sins, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s pseudo-mea culpa, “In Retrospect: Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam,” is a self-indictment. His lesser crime is self-indulgence. His arrogance and duplicity during the Vietnam conflict is echoed throughout his book as he recounts his mismanagement of the war. If as he admits, ignorance was his guiding light, then, it has grown to be a beacon today, proving that he has learned little about Vietnamese communism in the almost three decades that it took him to write his book. Besides the war, another tragedy is that McNamara seems...

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." —Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) Well, the aptly named Robert Strange McNamara has finally shuffled off to join LBJ and Dick Nixon in the 7th level of Hell. McNamara was the original bean-counter — a man who knew the cost of everything but the worth of nothing.

Former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara has died. McNamara, 93, died at home in his sleep Monday morning, his wife Diana told The Associated Press. She said he had been in failing health for some time. Known as a policymaker with a fixation for statistical analysis, McNamara was president of the Ford Motor Co. when President John F. Kennedy asked him to head the Pentagon in 1961. McNamara worked for seven years as the defense secretary in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, longer than any other person in that post. He headed the war department during the build-up of forces in...

James Von Brunn’s writings don’t sound very “right-wing.” On June 10, the nation tragically witnessed a memorial dedicated to commemorating an atrocity become the site of yet more death. Just before 1 p.m., longtime neo-Nazi James Wenneker Von Brunn entered the Holocaust Museum on the National Mall and opened fire in an attempt to complete the Final Solution his hero had left tentative, an omission Von Brunn dubbed “Hitler’s biggest mistake.” As former Defense Secretary Bill Cohen wandered the museum grounds, Von Brunn killed Stephen T. Johns, a black security officer, then was shot himself. As of this writing, the...

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned North Korea on Saturday that the United States would not accept it as a nuclear weapons state, as Asian security officials struggled to find a new way to deal with the isolated Communist nation. “We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in Asia — or on us,” Mr. Gates told a major defense conference here that has been dominated by North Korea’s test this week of a nuclear device and the firing of at least six short-range missiles, all in defiance of international...

SINGAPORE -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned North Korea on Saturday that the United States would respond quickly if moves by the communist government threaten America or its Asian allies. "We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in the region -- or on us," Gates told an annual international meeting of defense and security officials from Asia and the Pacific Rim. Gates called North Korea's nuclear program a "harbinger of a dark future" but said he does not consider it a direct military threat to the United States...

Who is to blame for (1) our difficulties in Iraq, (2) the delayed Katrina response, (3) lousy relations between the US and Russia, and (4) Republicans losing the Senate?  Donald Rumsfeld, of course.  At least if you believe Robert Draper, as he writes in the June 2009 issue of GQ. "Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld has always answered his detractors by claiming that history will one day judge him kindly. But as he waits for that day, a new group of critics -- his administration peers -- are suddenly speaking out for the first time. What they're saying? It isn't...

Cadets graduating from West Point were praised by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Saturday for having the courage and patriotism to join the military in "a dangerous new century." Gates noted that the 970 members of the U.S. Military Academy's class of 2009 were preparing their West Point applications in late 2004, even as American forces were battling fiercely in Fallujah in Iraq. "You made your decision to serve knowing not only that America was at war, as did every man or woman who joined the military after September 11, but that this war would be bloody and...

Cadets graduating from West Point were praised by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Saturday for having the courage and patriotism to join the military in "a dangerous new century." Gates noted that the 970 members of the U.S. Military Academy's class of 2009 were preparing their West Point applications in late 2004, even as American forces were battling fiercely in Fallujah in Iraq. "You made your decision to serve knowing not only that America was at war, as did every man or woman who joined the military after Sept. 11, but that this war would be bloody and difficult,...

A change to the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward gays in the military will be delayed despite promises by the Obama administration to overturn the rule, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday."The president and I feel like we've got a lot on our plates right now and let's push that one down the road a little bit," Gates told "FOX News Sunday."In January, President Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, was asked whether his boss would overturn "don't ask, don't tell.” Gibbs' reply -- videotaped for YouTube -- was unequivocal."You don't hear politicians give a one-word answer much. But it's...

As the Bush administration was drawing to a close, Robert M. Gates, whose two years as defense secretary had been devoted to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, felt compelled to warn his successor of a crisis closer to home.

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2009 – The wishes of the families will be the overriding principle guiding any media coverage of fallen warriors’ remains arriving at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Gates directed a working group to come up with a plan to change a ban on such coverage imposed during the Gulf War in the early 1990s. “The working group I tasked to come up with an implementation plan has reported back, and we will put a number of its recommendations into action starting next month,” Gates said during a Pentagon news conference....

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2009 – As the United States reviews its strategy in Afghanistan, one thing is certain: The United States won’t let the Taliban threaten the Afghan government and re-establish safe havens there, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said on National Public Radio yesterday. “I would say that at a minimum, the mission is to prevent the Taliban from retaking power against the democratically elected government in Afghanistan and thus turning Afghanistan potentially again into a haven for alQaida and other extremist groups,” Gates said. The secretary conceded that the situation in Afghanistan “began to go downhill again” in...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will sit out Barack Obama's inauguration at an undisclosed location as the "designated successor" in the event of a catastrophe, the White House announced Monday. While the eyes of the world are glued Tuesday to Obama's historic swearing-in, attended by outgoing US President George W. Bush and both outgoing and incoming senior aides, Gates will stay away, said spokeswoman Dana Perino. "In order to ensure continuity of government, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been designated by the outgoing administration, with the concurrence of the incoming administration, to serve as the designated successor...

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has told US troops in Iraq that their mission there is in its "endgame".

Citizen Soldiers May Need More Training On Homeland Operations, Defense Secretary Says Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday ordered his top department leaders to conduct a broad review to determine whether the military, National Guard and Reserve can adequately deal with domestic disasters and whether they have the training and equipment to defend the homeland. The 41-page memo signaled an acknowledgment that the military must better recognize the critical role of the National Guard and Reserves in homeland defense, but stopped short of requiring many specific policy changes. His memo comes in the wake of a stinging 400-page independent commission...

2. change... not so much :( Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top amitta (35 posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Tue Nov-25-08 05:09 PM Response to Original message 3. so Obama thinks Dems are weak on defense disgusting. Printer Friendly | Permalink | Reply | Top gcomeau Donating Member (1000+ posts) Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author...

THE surge in Iraq has been one of the most impressive military accomplishments in recent years. It has been so successful that the emerging consensus is that what may now be needed in Afghanistan is a similar surge of American forces. President-elect Barack Obama campaigned on his intention to do so, as did his former opponent, John McCain. As one who is occasionally — and incorrectly — portrayed as an opponent of the surge in Iraq, I believe that while the surge has been effective in Iraq, we must also recognize the conditions that made it successful. President Bush’s bold...

CORNWALLIS, Canada, Nov. 20, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived here today to encourage a more regional approach to the mission in Afghanistan’s Regional Command South during a two-day meeting of defense ministers from nations contributing the lion’s share of forces there. The meeting, at Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, will provide an opportunity for the eight ministers to focus on the situation in Regional Command South and their strategy for stabilizing that volatile area, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters yesterday. In addition to the United States and Canada, the participants represent Australia, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands,...

Anti-war camp urges Obama to dump Gates By: Jen DiMascio November 11, 2008 01:57 PM EST Arms control advocates and anti-war activists are ratcheting up pressure on President-elect Barack Obama to dump Defense Secretary Robert Gates and replace him with a more strident anti-war voice. Nominating Gates to stay, “would be a violation of the mandate for change that Obama says he represents,” said Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the anti-war group CodePink. A better bipartisan fit for Obama, they say, is Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), who brings out what they like about Gates – his ability to deal with Russia,...

Not so Changey. President-elect Barack Obama is unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies, advisers say, an approach that is almost certain to create tension within the Democratic Party… “He’s going to take a very centrist approach to these issues,” said Roger Cressey, a former counterterrorism official in the Clinton and Bush administrations. “Whenever an administration swings too far on the spectrum left or right, we end up getting ourselves in big trouble.”… [H]e more recently voted for a White House-backed law to expand eavesdropping powers for the National Security Agency. Mr. Obama said he opposed providing legal...

Arms control advocates and anti-war activists are ratcheting up pressure on President-elect Barack Obama to dump Defense Secretary Robert Gates and replace him with a more strident anti-war voice. Nominating Gates to stay, “would be a violation of the mandate for change that Obama says he represents,” said Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the anti-war group CodePink. A better bipartisan fit for Obama, they say, is Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), who brings out what they like about Gates – his ability to deal with Russia, Iran and Syria – without the direct link to Bush’s policies. “That would be an unmistakable...

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on Sunday expressed openness to having Republicans appointed in the next Cabinet and keeping Defense Sec. Robert Gates in his official capacity. The Democratic leader also pledged bipartisanship in the next Congress, saying election victories were not a "mandate for the Democratic Party" but a call to end divisive politics. ************* "I think we need a good transition there," the Senate leader said. "I am confident that Senator Obama has somebody in mind for secretary of defense but Gates -- you know, it's interesting, my conversation with Secretary Gates, he's...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2008 – Amid an 80-percent drop in violence and with further withdrawals of U.S. forces in sight, the coalition in Iraq has reached the “endgame,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. “I believe we have now entered that endgame – and our decisions today and in the months ahead will be critical to regional stability and our national security interests for years to come,” he told the Senate Armed Service Committee during a hearing on Iraq and Afghanistan. Highlighting success in Iraq are reductions in U.S. casualties and overall violence, and the handover of...

LONDON, Sept. 18, 2008 – The situation in Afghanistan is complicated, and the United States and its NATO allies and other partners continually assess the strategy in the country, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Gates, in London for a NATO meeting, spoke to British and American reporters. He arrived here yesterday after visits to Afghanistan and Iraq. Gates called the situation in Afghanistan dynamic and complicated. He said that while the northern and western parts of the country pose no significant challenges, the American-led Regional Command East area was under control a year ago, but has seen a...

U.S.' Gates scoffs at Russian warnings to Poland Sun Aug 17, 2008 7:11pm BST By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pentagon chief Robert Gates dismissed as "empty rhetoric" on Sunday Russian warnings that Moscow would target Poland for a possible military strike because Warsaw agreed to host part of a U.S. missile shield. "Russia is not going to launch nuclear missiles at anybody," Defense Secretary Gates said on ABC News' "This Week." "The Poles know that. We know it." Col-General Anatoliy Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the Russian general staff, told Interfax on Friday that Russian military doctrine would allow for...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2008 – With their invasion of Georgia, the Russians are sending a message not only to neighbors, but also to the world, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. Georgia, a nation of 5 million in the Caucasus region, has allied itself with the West and is seeking membership in NATO. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are provinces that are seeking to break away from Georgia and ally with Russia. Gates noted that, like clockwork, there have been exchanges of gunfire between Georgian and South Ossetian troops every August. “And this year, it escalated very quickly,” he...

US defence chief Robert Gates has said he sees no prospect of using US military force in Georgia, following its week-long conflict with Russia. But he warned that US-Russia relations could be adversely affected for years as a result of Moscow's actions. (snip) Despite concerns that Moscow may not be keen quickly to leave Georgian territory, Mr Gates said the Russians did seem to be pulling back. "They appear to be withdrawing their forces back towards Abkhazia and to the zone of conflict... towards South Ossetia," he said.

In defiance of traditional party labels, Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, may ask the defence secretary of President George W Bush to stay on if he wins the White House. Obama’s top foreign policy and national security advisers are pressing the case for keeping Robert Gates at the Pentagon after he won widespread praise for his performance. The move would be in keeping with Obama’s desire to appoint a cabinet of all the talents. After appealing for unity with former rival Hillary Clinton and her supporters and big donors last week, Obama, 46, is turning his attention to wooing...

Barack Obama has never been shy about comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln. He did so when he announced his candidacy at the Illinois state capitol, where both he and Lincoln served in the legislature. "The life of a tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyer tells us that a different future is possible," Obama said. "He tells us that there is power in words ... He tells us that there is power in hope." That was, well, audacious, to say the least — and the comparisons have continued, on issues large and small. But the most important similarity, in Obama's mind, is...

In the wake of the U.S. Air Force leadership shake up, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is directing the service to field six more Predator combat air patrols (CAPs), as well as more Reapers to support operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The order comes shortly after Gates’ first briefing from the new Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Task Force June 6. He set up the task force in April, explaining during a speech at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., that getting warfighting support from institutional military — namely, the Air Force — was “like pulling teeth.” A lack of support for...

The classic World War II-era poster reminded talkative dock workers that "loose lips sink ships." Well, loose nukes present an even more imposing problem, one with continent-cracking possibilities. Last week, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested and received the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, Gates' office cited as a reason a Pentagon investigation of lax standards in Air Force oversight of nuclear weapons. One incident involved a USAF bomber with cruise missiles over-flying a wide swath of the United States -- and the crew didn't know the weapons...

BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 12, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and fellow NATO defense ministers will discuss alliance operations in Afghanistan, the alliance missile defense program, and transition plans for Kosovo during a two-day ministerial beginning here today. The ministers will focus on how NATO nations are moving toward implementing decisions the member nations’ heads of state reached at the alliance’s April summit in Bucharest, Romania, a senior defense official speaking on background told reporters traveling with Gates. Afghanistan will dominate much of the conference, the official said. Gates will participate in meetings centered on NATO’s Regional Command South...

Behind Gates' Decision to Fire Up the Air Force by Austin Bay The classic World War II-era poster reminded talkative dock workers that "loose lips sink ships." Well, loose nukes present an even more imposing problem, one with continent-cracking possibilities. Last week, when Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested and received the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, Gates' office cited as a reason a Pentagon investigation of lax standards in Air Force oversight of nuclear weapons. One incident involved a USAF bomber with cruise missiles over-flying a wide swath...

Air Force's Cultural Shake-Up by Robert Maginnis Last week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made history when he simultaneously fired the Air Force’s top military and civilian leaders. Most press accounts attribute the head chopping to a series of institutional failures but the truth is that Gates’ real objective is to radically change the service’s culture. Gates forced Air Force secretary Michael Wynne and the service’s chief of staff, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, to resign following the release of a nuclear investigation which reported a “…pattern of poor performance.” That report proved a tipping point for Gates, whose grievances with...

Nuclear arms mistakes were reason for dismissals, but deeper divide over service's mission was at play, officers and analysts say. By Bob DeansWASHINGTON BUREAU Saturday, June 07, 2008 WASHINGTON — In April, Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveled to Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery, Ala., to address an elite group of majors and colonels attending the Air War College in preparation for promotions to command positions. For months, Gates had been at odds with Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, over how to increase the use of unmanned aerial...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – America needs dedicated public servants now more than ever, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told graduates at the Virginia Military Institute, in Lexington, Va., today. Gates congratulated the 246 graduates of the state military college on their accomplishments and said the institute has taught them lessons on the importance of public service and duty to their fellow citizens. “For generations, VMI has graduated young people ready to raise their right hands and defend their homeland,” the secretary said. “This is something to be grateful for in any time period, but never more so than in...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – The Defense Department needs to worry more about what warfighters need right now than what they may need down the road, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said last night. In a speech to the Business Executives for National Security group, Gates said he will work for the remainder of his time in office to ensure the department fulfills its “sacred obligation” to support U.S. servicemembers now fighting on the front lines. This means doing all that is needed to “see that they are successful on the battlefield and properly cared for at home,” Gates...

Rumor is Admiral William Fallon will retire suddenly No link yet

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2008 – Vice President Richard B. Cheney thanked recruits and sailors at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., today for choosing to serve a cause greater than themselves in the struggle against terrorism. Cheney talked with about 4,000 recruits and sailors at the center outside Chicago, where his own father trained for his Navy service during World War II. The vice president compared today’s military members who, like their World War II predecessors, put their own interests aside to serve “when the country needed you most.” “Your presence at Great Lakes proves that you understand the core Navy...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2008 – U.S. troops in Iraq will go down in military history as purveyors of democracy in the region, Vice President Richard B. Cheney told a cheering crowd today at Fort Hood, Texas. “Because of you, the people of Iraq can see a better day ahead,” he said. Before addressing 1st Cavalry Division soldiers and their families, Cheney helped uncase the colors of the Army’s 3rd Corps, which recently turned over control of Multinational Corps Iraq to 18th Airborne Corps. “On the ground in Iraq in all of 2007, you amassed a superb record,” Cheney told...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the United States is prepared to share with China some of the information it has about this week's U.S. satellite shootdown. His comments came after Beijing complained the missile strike could cause harm to outer space security and some countries. Gates told reporters during a visit to Hawaii that the United States is prepared to share whatever it can "appropriately" share with China. The Pentagon said earlier that debris from the obliterated satellite is being tracked over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans but appears to be too small to cause damage on...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2008 – The anticipated landing tomorrow of the space shuttle Atlantis will open the window of opportunity for the U.S. military to shoot down a dying intelligence satellite headed toward Earth, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today. President Bush has authorized Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to give the shoot-down order, and the secretary received a briefing on the plan today, Morrell said. The secretary is prepared to make that call from the road, if necessary, during his nine-day, around-the-world trip that begins tomorrow, he said. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint...

Bob Gates has fallen and he broke his arm

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq, Feb. 11, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today he’ll probably recommend a pause for evaluation and assessment in Iraq before further troop reductions when the last surge brigade leaves in July. Gates spoke following a two-hour meeting with Multinational Force Iraq commander Army Gen. David H. Petraeus. “I think the notion of a brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense,” Gates told reporters traveling with him. The secretary did not speculate on how long the pause would be. Last month, Petraeus recommended a pause in redeployment from Iraq after...

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 10, 2008 – The war on terror in Afghanistan is Europe’s war, too, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. During a speech at the 44th Munich Conference on Security Policy, Gates spoke directly to Europeans about the dangers al Qaeda and other jihadist groups pose to them. “The threat posed by violent Islamic extremism is real, and it is not going away,” Gates said. Gates said that while European government leaders understand the threats, public support in Europe for the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan is weak because many people on the continent don’t connect the...

BAGHDAD, Feb. 10, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived here today and immediately went into meetings with senior Iraqi officials. The secretary arrived after a four-hour flight from Munich. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, met Gates and escorted the secretary to a working dinner with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talibani and other senior officials. While en route to Baghdad, Gates told reporters traveling with him that he planned to congratulate the Iraqi leaders on their recent governmental progress. Gates said Iraqi lawmakers have been “energized” lately, passing a justice law...

VILNIUS, Lithuania, Feb. 7, 2008 – Pakistan only recently has realized that terrorists on its border with Afghanistan pose a significant threat, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said during a news conference here today. Gates is participating in informal NATO defense ministerial meetings. While the ministers did not specifically discuss the situation in Pakistan, Afghanistan is a major item on the agenda, and reporters asked the secretary about the unrest in Pakistan. “It’s only been in the last few months, in my opinion, that Pakistan has come to realize that the situation along the border with Afghanistan … potentially represents...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2008 – Though many of its nations have been fighting hard in Afghanistan, action is needed to prevent NATO from becoming a two-tiered alliance in which some countries contribute military forces and some do not, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today at a congressional hearing. Many European nations do not understand the importance of the fight in Afghanistan to their own security, or that NATO’s response to the situation says a lot about the future of the alliance itself, Gates said at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. Gates and other leaders have expressed...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will discuss the need for more NATO forces in Afghanistan when he attends a defense ministers meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, later this week, a senior Defense Department official said here today. The 26 NATO-affiliated defense ministers are expected to discuss the alliance’s mission in Kosovo, European missile defense, relations with Russia and the war in Afghanistan during informal meetings held Feb. 7-8, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters at a news conference. In Vilnius, Gates “will take the opportunity to personally explain to his NATO colleagues why he is...